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Friday, October 25, 2013

One of the traditions held dear to the Sepultura camp, in the 90's was the birthday bucket! This concoction was as loved as it was reviled. One would sweat in misery as the big day approached...what unGodly mix would be projectile vomited on your Fresh Prince of BelAir Head this year?The bucket started out innocently enough, one tour. Just a slimy batch of leftovers and old half drank beers, jellied in whatever container was available for demolition. As the tours passed by and the fun increased, the bucket began to age and I wouldn't say gracefully!

Paulo Bill and Nino

Me, Bill the driver and Nino

One year, in Italy, Paulo's birthday bash popped up on the calendar. We were nestling ourselves in, on a long forgotten beach village, on the northern coast of Italy, when we decided to get to work on the bucket. It was time for our driver, Bill, to take a 10 hour break, anyway. Plenty of reasons for some fun!One thing lead to another. We romped through the village for a bit, visiting some local bars. The sight of my green hair was too much for the local Grammys. Two different Grandmas approached me and crossed, muttering something.... When I caught myself grabbing a one piece, old fashioned, light blue, butt flap buttoned, men's underware off a clothesline strung across a balcony, I decided it was time to head for the sanctuary of the bus.

When everyone regrouped, the bucket came out of nowhere. The recent German tour had left us with an excess of mustard, a very recommended bucket ingredient.

This was quite tame, and in future years the bucket received cigarette butts, a bit of spit and even a drop or two of the yellow snow substance. The most sanitary bucket I ever saw was Zyon's one year bucket. It was a tiny little cup-bucket meant to dump a chubby pink toe in! And in Texas, the award for best bucket stampede ever, as I walked into a dressing room holding Zyon, at the precise time the bucket was sloughing about and a herd of laughing band and crew stormed out like a herd of Brahma Bulls!The bucket tradition was retired on one of the stairs of Max's career. In all of our 'bucket memory dialog,' it will always be accompanied with a smile and a "phew.'

Friday, October 18, 2013

Every year at Christmas, Motorhead would put on festivals in Germany for the fans to rage at. Normally at this time, there were very few shows going on, so the Christmas shows were packed with kids. Done with Christmas and looking for action, this was the place to go!

Rainer Haensel was the promoter of these shows. He was super cool and always wore this badass jean jacket given to him by Leslie West of the band, Mountain. His production manager was named Schlanky; you could go to him for anything and he would sort you out. Shizzle was organized!! These two G's had it together!

Rainer Haensel and Schlanky

There was a lot of camaraderie among the crew and all the bands on the tour....Motorhead, Kreator, Sepultura, Morbid Angel and others. Every day was one big party!

Silvio Golfetti was Andreas Kisser's replacement, when Andreas broke his arm in a jet ski accident in Brazil, shortly before the tour was to begin. He was in the band, Korzus, from Sao Paulo, Brazil. HE even looked similar to Andreas and could shred like a maniac!

Max and Iggor met Korzus in Sap Paulo in 1983. They went to the band practice, where Korzus serenaded them with a bunch of Slayer covers. It was very impressive and they played just like the originals. A month later, they heard Zema, the drummer hung himself and committed suicide. It was shocking! Korzus went on to record a compilation called SP Metal. Korzus is still a band today and opened for Soulfly recently in Brazil.

Horns Up to Motorhead!! We all love Lemmy and Co. The world of Metal wouldn't be the same without them!!

Friday, October 11, 2013

In the early 1990's just a short time before I had Sepultura booked to play on the Motorhead Christmas festivals in Germany, Andreas Kisser, guitarist of Sepultura, had a most unfortunate accident. He was having an extreme bit of fun when he decided to head into the dark waters off the coast of Brazil, on a galloping jet ski. As luck would have it, his jet ski got plowed by a wave and the jet ski crashed onto his arm, snapping it in half!!It was no small miracle that Andreas was able to maneuver his way near enough to shore, to attract attention and help!! He did though, and that was his first case of good luck.

His next dose was being taken to a hospital that had one of the finest doctors for treatment of broken limbs. He had just graduated from the School of Inspector Gadget, in Venice, Italy. In no time at all, Dr. constructed an erector set in Andreas' arm that would align and heal the bone so it would be strong and straight, once healed.

The only bad misfortune was Andreas' arm was so sore and swollen, he was unable to play the Motorhead dates. We enlisted our friend Silvio, guitarist of Korsus, and continued the Sepultura domination. Andreas healed quickly and before you knew it, he was back on the road, raging on stage with his very Metal arm solidifier!!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Thanks to the hilarious Cheech and Chong movies, many people have dreamt of traveling to Holland to sample the local coffeeshops' products. The art of sitting with a friend and legally enjoying the Holland greenery is one of the main attractions of Holland. It isn't all wooden shoes, tulips and Delft porcelain!The legendary Dynamo Festival in Eindhoven, Holland was one of the first successful music festivals of the 1990's. It began in a tiny club; maybe holding 150 or less spectators and grew to the amazing number of 120,000+ Metalheads, moshing the days away, in giant fields!

Sacred Reich at Dynamo Festival

Sacred Reich

I had my dream fulfilled many times, with my bands Sacred Reich and Sepultura being on the bill and even had both bands playing on the same day! The festival presenters also organized small club gigs leading up to the big concerts. These shows created a thirst for the bands because the clubs and the surrounding streets would be packed with people straining to hear the tunes seeping out through cracks in the entry way..

Mordred band member

Death Angel!

One year, my birthday happened to be in Eindhoven.. While I spent the day selling merch under the stairs, in an alcove of the club, the crowd above me went wild in their Sepultura-mania. It was all cool; I always put my work first, before the party. After the show....now that was a different story.

Andreas and Max back stage

Iggor

My friend, who shall remain incognito, presented me with a large chocolate bundt cake. He said there was a surprise baked inside. We all wolfed the cake down, like it was aftershow pizza and took off to the next gig.It wasn't long before we all realized there was definitely something different about this cake. When one of the chowhounds began projectile vomiting, I decided it was time to consult a doctor. I had to swerve around the planets and shooting stars surrounding me, as I accompanied my sick friend into the waiting room. Being a Dutch emergency room doctor, the medic knew instantly what the malady was...too much substance in the cake.It took a couple hours to float back to Earth, but we all arrived unscathed! The moral of the story? Count your carbs? Beware of strangers bearing gifts? Or just...don't eat too much space cake!!!

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ABOUT YOUR TEACHER

"This is my story...my Metal History, a salad tossed with my roots, my present life, the lives of my children and grandchildren. And ...the story must be and can only be written by those who lived it..." Gloria Cavalera